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Overview

Presenting acclaimed essays from one of contemporary science fiction’s most imaginative wordsmiths, this collection shows that Robert Silverberg’s nonfiction is as witty and original as his fiction and full of acute observations and matter-of-fact insights. Whether he is discussing science fiction, history, cultural effects, science, or writing, Silverberg is always exploring new territories. As in his fiction, no cultural icon escapes his scrutiny, including fellow writers such as Robert Heinlein, Arthur C. Clarke, H. P. Lovecraft, and Isaac Asimov. Delightfully wicked commentaries on the concepts of thoughtcrimes, space exploration, the ancient Antikythera Computer, and the universal translator in science fiction fill these essays, many of which were originally published as columns in Asimov Science Fiction magazine.

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Product Details

About the Author

Robert Silverberg is the author of more than 100 science fiction and fantasy novels, including the bestselling Lord Valentine trilogy, and more than 60 nonfiction works. He is the recipient of five Nebula Awards, four Hugo Awards, and the prestigious Prix Apollo. He lives in Oakland, California.

Editorial Reviews

Starred Review.

Silverberg (Dying Inside) one of science fiction's all-time greats, introduces this as a follow-up to Reflections and Refractions as a "quasi-autobiographical series of statements about science fiction by someone who has loved it and tried to serve it well for the past six decades." Dividing the genre into three broad categories-gadget, adventure, and social-he shows how a writer in 1880 might have built a story around the yet-to-be invented automobile: an initial concentration on technical details would give way to adventure about a daring rescue by a hero pushing an automobile to the reckless speed of 20mph. In his own writing Silverberg favored the third approach-social-which in this instance would have anticipated the automobile's transformation of the culture in "completely novel and unexpected" ways. In six sections, Silverberg tackles sci-fi "in general," science and society, the task of "being a writer," his colleagues, and current events (including Iraq), ending by getting personal with "Something of Myself," wherein he talks of libraries real and invented, autograph writing and collecting, email vs. letter correspondence, and more. This delightful collection reflects Silverberg's wide-ranging interests, wit, and mastery of the craft. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

"Silverberg is an engaging essayist and storyteller, and his memories are always interesting to read." www.denverpost.com

"There is a strong case to be made that SFWA Grand Master Robert Silverberg is the living, beating heart at the center of science fiction." www.Scifiwire.com

"There are not many people you can talk to who remember what he remembers, and fewer who remember it with such acuity, charm, and a graceful even-handedness that sometimes borders on detachment, but just as often reveals glimpses of the primordial passion that attracted Silverberg to SF in the first place." Gary K. Wolfe, www.locusmag.com (March 11, 2011)

From the Publisher

Where Silverberg goes today, science fiction will follow tomorrow

Isaac Asimov

There is a strong case to be made that SFWA Grand Master Robert Silverberg is the living, beating heart at the center of science fiction.

www.Scifiwire.com

Silverberg is an engaging essayist and storyteller, and his memories are always interesting to read.

www.denverpost.com

There is a strong case to be made that SFWA Grand Master Robert Silverberg is the living, beating heart at the center of science fiction.

Scifiwire

Silverberg is an engaging essayist and storyteller, and his memories are always interesting to read.

denverpost

In an earlier collection of essays, Reflections and Refractions: Thoughts on Science Fiction, Science, and Other Matters, science fiction novelist and popular science writer Silverberg collected many of his magazine pieces from 1973 through 1996. This collection picks up where he left off, with over 75 essays, most of which originally appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction magazine, covering a broad variety of topics. Winner of multiple Hugo and Nebula awards, Silverberg writes essays that are innovative and thought-provoking, taking his readers on a gratifying journey into the "real golden age" of science fiction and through both historical events such as the discovery of the archaic Antikythera Computer and on to ruminations on the future, e.g., when copper and zinc become extinct elements. Silverberg aims to draw his readers into serious consideration of the matters he discusses, and he succeeds while presenting effective inspiration for writers and literary scholars with his frank and illuminating discussion of writing, storytelling, and science fiction writers who came before. VERDICT Writers, science fiction fans, and readers who enjoy insightful, even controversial writing will find this collection invaluable.—Jennifer Harris, Mercyhurst Coll. Lib., Erie, PA

“Sobering and frightening…. Silverberg’s rich characters, his dead-on-target vision of modern society, his mastery at
building tension—all are in evidence in this notable outing from one of the very best.” —Publishers WeeklyThe Entities have arrived on Earth, fifteen feet tall ...

Somewhere in Philadelphia, a master engraver is turning out brilliant forgeries of U.S. currency plates
for an organized crime gang - and the government wants to put a stop to it. But how can they get close enough to bring down the ...

Who knoweth the spirit of men that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast
that goeth downward to the earth? –Ecclesiastes 3:21Okay, they did resemble elephants, it can't be denied. That led many people to underestimate the Nildoror and ...

A parody of the end-of-the-world theme in which time travel allows Nick, Jane and their
friends to witness the final apocalypse. As a group of friends gather for Mike and Ruby's party, each couple boasts about their recent trip to ...

By the time this present group of stories was written I had passed through the
cultural turbulence that engulfed nearly everyone's life in the wild, stormy period we know as the Sixties, which for me had actually lasted from 1968 ...

Ideal for tattoo artists and patrons looking for original designs, this compendium of line art
showcases the work of some of the greatest horror, fantasy, and science fiction artists and illustrators in the country. Body art is becoming more and ...